JB2 ENVIRONMENTAL LLC
According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, JB2 ENVIRONMENTAL LLC — a remediation services facility located at 927 NORTH 19TH AVENUE EAST, NEWTON, IA 50208 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 15 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $20,267.00. The inspection case was opened on 2018-05-25.
The volume of citations issued during this inspection suggests systematic compliance deficiencies rather than isolated incidents. Facilities with 10 or more citations typically face comprehensive abatement requirements and may be subject to follow-up inspections.
BLS Injury Data: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022), this industry sector has an occupational injury rate of 2.8 per 100 full-time workers — 4% above the national average of 2.7. The sector fatality rate is 5.3 per 100,000 workers.
Industry Benchmark: The total penalty of $20,267.00 is more than 4.9× the national average of $4,155.70 for facilities in the Admin Services sector (NAICS 562910). This sector encompasses 40,441 inspected facilities nationwide with aggregate penalties totaling $168.1M.
State Context: Within IA, this facility's penalty places it at the 98th percentile among 19,658 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,797.42.
Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 15 citations spanning 4 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 14 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition. 1 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm.
Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning July 9, 2018 with the latest abatement deadline set for July 26, 2018. Of the 15 total citations, 0 (0%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.
Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $20,267.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $1,351.13 falls within the standard penalty range.
The inspection of JB2 Environmental LLC revealed a deeply concerning pattern of systemic non-compliance regarding asbestos abatement protocols (1926.1101), characterizing a fundamental breakdown in the employer’s safety management system. The high density of Serious violations—specifically targeting exposure monitoring, work practices for Class I, II, and III asbestos work, and mandatory engineering controls—indicates that workers were likely subjected to inhalation hazards without the requisite respiratory protection or containment barriers. The gravity rating of 5 across nearly all citations underscores the significant probability of long-term health impairment, such as asbestosis or mesothelioma, resulting from these failures. Beyond the specialized asbestos hazards, the inclusion of scaffolding training and electrical grounding violations suggests a broader disregard for basic construction safety standards. While the total penalty of $20,267 may appear moderate for fifteen citations, the uniformity of the individual fines suggests a programmatic failure rather than isolated technical errors. For a firm operating in the remediation services industry (NAICS 562910), these citations point to a lack of competent person oversight and a failure to implement a functional Hazard Communication program. The absence of adequate monitoring and work-practice controls reflects a hazardous operational culture where specialized environmental risks were treated with administrative negligence, placing the workforce at acute risk of chronic occupational disease.